Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the current invention relate to packaging for use with optical fibers.
Description of the Related Art
Optical fiber laser systems 100, such as the exemplary system of prior art FIG. 1, may include a lasing pump source 102, a high reflector optical fiber 104, a gain optical fiber 106, and an output coupler optical fiber 108. The lasing pump source 102 may be provided by a plurality of laser diodes 110 and a pump combiner 112. Each laser diode 110 may generate laser light. The pump combiner 112 may optically combine the laser light from the laser diodes 110. The high reflector optical fiber 104 may include a fiber Bragg grating (FBG) which acts as a mirror. The gain optical fiber 106 may be spliced to the high reflector optical fiber 104 and may be doped with elements such as ytterbium or erbium to act as a gain medium. The output coupler optical fiber 108 may be spliced to the gain optical fiber 106 and may include an FBG which acts as a partial mirror. The light output from the pump combiner 112 may be coupled into the high reflector optical fiber 104, which along with the gain optical fiber 106 and the output coupler optical fiber 108 form an optical resonator. The laser beam may be provided by the output coupler optical fiber 108 or a delivery optical fiber spliced thereto.
The FBG of the high reflector optical fiber 104 and the output coupler optical fiber 108 typically absorbs a small fraction of the incoming light. Contaminants that remain at the glass surface of the optical fiber after the fabrication of an FBG can also absorb some of the light propagating inside the fiber. This absorption by the FBG and surface contaminants may produce heat and an ensuing temperature increase that can be sizable when the incoming optical power reaches kilowatt levels. The FBG and surrounding materials may not be able to withstand this temperature increase without sacrificing performance metrics such as spectral response.